DEVELOPMENT: Shaken Markets Overshadow Davos Meet

Movers and shakers of global business and politics appeared crestfallen over the financial and banking crisis at the World Economic Forum meeting that began at Davos Wednesday.

Q&A: ‘If the WSF Didn’t Exist, It Would Be Necessary To Create It’

Aminata Dramane Traoré, one of the leaders of the anti-globalisation movement in Mali, reckons that the World Social Forum (WSF) is a representative movement that is essential to the common struggle of people oppressed by a "violent world economy" which often flouts fundamental rights.

LABOUR: International Union Sets Up Chinese Links

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has decided controversially to start a dialogue with the official All China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU).

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Kenya’s Forum to Debate Democracy

During the World Social Forum (WSF) held in Kenya in January of 2007 one of the many presentations was about democracy and the general elections that were to be held here in December.

Q&A: ‘WSF Is As Much a Cultural Struggle As a Political One’

The movement against capitalism, injustice and oppression requires a strong convergence of social organisations that have fully accepted their differences, said sociologist Boaventura de Sousa Santos, who predicted serious future difficulties for World Social Forum (WSF) meetings.

Q&A: &#39Everybody Leaves the Forum Happier, Wiser and Stronger&#39

Roberto Savio is probably among the best informed insiders at the World Social Forum (WSF). He has been on its international committee since it was created in 2001, and since 2003 he has been coordinator of the 'media, culture and counter-hegemony' thematic area.

RIGHTS: World Social Forum and World Economic Forum – A Bridge Too Far?

A group of human rights organisations will attempt to bridge the gap between two antagonistic camps in January: the World Economic Forum which meets in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, and the World Social Forum, generally held in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Highlighting the Amazon’s Diversity

The international council of the World Social Forum met this week in the northern Brazilian city of Belem to plan the next steps to be taken by global activists, including the eighth edition of the WSF, to be held in January 2009 in Brazil’s Amazon region.

LATIN AMERICA: Critics Sceptical of Business Community’s Concern About Poverty

Regional business leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Latin America admitted that unequal distribution of wealth is a crucial problem, and said they want to contribute to its solution.

DEVELOPMENT: Australia Social Forum Is Possible

While the organisers have proclaimed the third Melbourne Social Forum (MSF), which concluded here on Sunday, a hit, some participants say the event could have been more representative.

Q&A: “We Want to Take Control of Our Water”

In a State of the Nation address delivered in February, South African President Thabo Mbeki said his country had "already achieved the Millennium Development Goals in respect of basic water supply, with improvement of access from 59 percent in 1994 to 83 percent in 2006."

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Dying, or More Alive than Ever?

There are plenty of prophets of doom foretelling the death, or at least a deep crisis, of the World Social Forum (WSF), based on reports about organisational problems and a great fall in numbers at the 7th WSF, held in Nairobi in January.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: UN Chief Will Help Humanise Slums

Kibera, Kenya's biggest slum, and reportedly one of Africa's largest, has been basking in world media attention recently.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: G33 Pushes Trade Powers on Farm Issues

Developing countries led by Indonesia, India, and China issued a strong message to the World Economic Forum under way here that they will not allow attempts to dilute the agricultural negotiations in the Doha Round of trade talks by certain industrialised countries, especially the United States.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Activists Determined to Take On Globalisation’s Challenges

The mammoth World Social Forum (WSF) wound to a close in the Kenyan capital after five days of dialogue, art, poetry, dance, drama and protests led by participants from around the globe who believe "another world is possible" - the slogan of the global civil society movement.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: How Far Is Too Far in Terror Fight?

The movers and shakers of global politics and security searched for a "comprehensive response to terrorism" at the World Economic Forum's 37th session here Thursday, but not surprisingly, differences cropped up over the strategies to wage a fight that many critics say is increasingly breaching fundamental human rights.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Debt the Illegitimate Legacy of Africa’s Dictators

As the World Social Forum (WSF) draws to a close in the Kenyan capital Thursday, calls on international finance institutions to cancel debts owed to them by poor countries have grown ever louder.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: End to HIV/AIDS a Tall Order in Face of Violence

The issue of violence exacerbating the spread of HIV/AIDS, particularly in women, has remained a hot one at the World Social Forum (WSF), taking place here this week.

DEVELOPMENT: Economic Forum Confronts ‘Schizophrenic World’

The high-profile Davos meeting of the international political, business, economic and academic elite began Wednesday on the sombre note that globalisation is facing major threats due to worsening climate change, growing income disparities, escalating barriers to movement of people, and global political and economic instability.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Latin American Groundswell In Motion

The struggle against social exclusion and the defence of the environment and natural resources such as water have made progress in Latin America - so much so that they have become an influential groundswell of opinion which is giving shape to a new way of life, say Bolivian activists.

DEVELOPMENT-KENYA: Gangs Make Slum Life Costly

Concerns are being voiced in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, about the operation of gangs in slum areas – something which appears to stem from the lack of policing in these communities.